Gregory Baker joined the Park Forest Police Department in 1983 with a clear purpose. Growing up on Chicago’s South Side, he initially aimed to become a doctor and attended the University of Illinois. However, after leaving college to seek steady union work, his direction changed following a tragic incident involving a close friend.
His friend was killed by police after a pursuit, when officers mistook a black Afro pick for a gun. “That just didn’t sit well with me,” Baker recalled. At that time, relationships between police and Black communities were strained, but instead of turning away from law enforcement, Baker decided to join it. “If that’s what the police are doing to the people I know and love,” he said, “maybe I need to be part of the change.”
Baker had not originally planned on becoming an officer in Park Forest and was unfamiliar with the community until he accompanied family members to Village Hall. After being offered an application during that visit, he decided to apply. He performed well in testing and was hired in 1983.
Early in his career, Baker noted the accessibility of village leadership. He remembers then-Assistant Village Manager John Perry encouraging applicants to reach out with questions and consistently returning calls. “That was impressive to me,” Baker said.
Over 23 years with the department, Baker held several roles including patrol officer, field training officer, supervisor of the Field Training Program, detective, arson investigator, member of Special Operations Unit, and regional undercover narcotics unit officer during the drug epidemic of the 1990s. “At that time, there were not a lot of Black police officers anywhere,” Baker said. “So I was somewhat of a commodity.”
Baker’s willingness to take on specialized training led him up through the ranks. He graduated from Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command and was named Park Forest Police Officer of the Year twice—in 1992 and 2001.
He became Park Forest’s first African American commander, captain, and deputy chief but clarified he was not its first Black officer; Anthony Brunson held that distinction and served as his mentor.
Baker noted differences between segregated neighborhoods where he grew up and Park Forest’s more integrated community life: “I was definitely surprised,” Baker said. “It wasn’t perfect, but people seemed to mix very well.”
After retiring from Park Forest in 2006, Baker went on to serve as police chief in Riverdale and South Holland before retiring again in 2017.
Despite breaking barriers throughout his career, Baker emphasized representation over titles: “You have to have people that look like yourself,” he said. “You can’t just talk about change. You have to become the solution.” He acknowledged challenges in recruiting minorities into policing but stressed participation is necessary for change: “We cannot allow people to mistreat our communities because there are not enough of us involved,” Baker said.
Asked about his legacy as Park Forest’s first Black deputy chief—a village governed by a council-manager system featuring a mayor and six trustees according to its official website—Baker responded: “If people just say, ‘He made a difference,’ that would mean more to me.”
Park Forest is recognized for promoting community health through commissions and programs (source) while also advancing sustainability efforts (source) and offering educational opportunities such as its Civic Leadership Academy (source). For over two decades within this environment committed to fairness and innovation (source), Gregory Baker sought accountability from within law enforcement.
